Mutiny
'It was here that the story first took a sharp turn, and the tunnel snake made himself known. Never did I think such a thing would happen. Never.'
^..^
SesTok cleared the viewscreen, thinking fast. He turned to SubCommander JanDel, "Report. Status of the landers?"
JanDel was staring at him, stunned. He didn't answer.
"Report!"
JanDel swallowed, then shook his shoulders of the issue, turning to the tactical quadrant. "All landed, four let off their loads of the male animals, but only one of them was able to pick up more females. That one is docking now. The other three are in high orbit, waiting new targets. The last two were unable to even get out the males before they were forced off the ground by the animals like the first three. They are also lifting into orbit." He turned back to SesTok and burst out, "What are you doing, Commander? Meeting with them? Returning the females? You countermand the Council!"
SesTok was worried in one corner of his mind about DonNah's reactions, but couldn't spare even a moment to glance at her. Here was his immediate problem. He gave his second a feral grin, showing all his teeth. "At least, that is what they think I do. Since so many of our landers were repulsed, we do not have as many of their females as we need. I buy us time, no more; time and distraction." And I buy myself time, as well, to try to turn this around. By Marusska, that female was right, and I knew it. This is not the way. I will hear their solutions, and hope one will work – and that I can convince the Council of it, also.
I can't get the females we already have off the ship this time. They will have to wait. "Send the two still loaded with males down to that spot – and the one with females, too, as bait for our trap. Let them go, for now; we'll get more to replace them. Bring the empty landers back to their berths. We will find new targets after this meeting. I will go down with the females."
JanDel jerked his shoulders back, incensed out of caution by his Commander's erratic behavior, bordering on treason. "No. We should keep these females, too! Commander, we must take what we've got and go, the Council's orders were clear! We must return at once, there is no time for this!"
SesTok snarled, drawing himself up to his full height and flaring his gill slits wide. "You dare argue with your Commander? You are insubordinate! Now obey my orders!" He was aware of every pair of eyes on the bridge locked onto the two of them, watching to see which warrior would back down.
JanDel was breathing heavily, shocked that he'd found himself in this precarious position. To argue with one's Commander was bad enough, but to contemplate countermanding those orders was a path he never wanted to tread. But how much worse was it to disobey the orders of the Council of Elders, especially now, with the survival of their very race hanging in the balance? He heard a low growl run through the crew around them, had been hearing it subliminally since it began, and suddenly his will crystalized.
"No. Commander SesTok, it is you who are insubordinate, to the Council. You will not take us down this current. We will follow our lawful orders." Suddenly his sidearm was in his hand and pointed at SesTok, without his even being aware of drawing it. "You will stand aside, sir."
"You think to replace me? Think hard JanDel! You will pay a very dear price if you proceed!"
"I think not, Commander. At any rate, it is for the Council to decide both our fates. I, at least, will have obeyed their orders." He waved to a pair of crewmen at the edge of the well without taking his eyes off SesTok. "Take the Commander and his pet and confine them to his cabin. Mount a double guard at the door." Part of him knew this was the test; which one of them would the crew support?
Evidently him. The two crewmen sprang up to each take one of the Commander's arms, and then turned to the door to collect the female.
And stopped. "SubCommander?" Everyone turned to look at the spot, and SesTok let himself grin.
DonNah had disappeared.
^..^
As the alien's face faded from Torchwood's main screen, cheers erupted, everyone turning to Rose to congratulate her success.
Almost everyone.
Joshua and Corin stood side-by-side at the back of the room, considering, then they turned to each other with concerned puzzlement written on their faces. "That was – " began Corin.
" – too easy," Joshua finished the sentence along with his father. He shook his head. "Something's wrong."
They turned back to Rose, who was holding her hand up, quelling the celebration. She looked back at her two men, her expression mirroring theirs. "Too easy," she said, though she hadn't heard them say it. "What's the catch?"
They both shook their heads. "I don't know," said Joshua. "We'll have to play this by ear, I think, till we see what they're up to."
"You don't know the details of what will have happened?" Corin asked him, too quietly for anyone else to hear.
Joshua flashed him a smile in appreciation for the delicate wording, but then shook his head again as Rose came to join them. "No. The accounts I read were skimpy on the fine points – and besides, you know better than I that a) history lies, and b) it's always in flux, especially in the details. One thing I do remember, though, is that this Commander – SesTok, was it? – is in the middle, in more ways than one. He's pivotal, and he's on the fence. At least that's what is said up ahead."
"OK." Rose took a deep breath and let it out slowly, considering. She turned back to the room, and General Myers. "We take this at face value – on the surface, while remaining on high alert until this crisis is over, and every last one of the hostages has been returned. General, may I suggest a military cordon be established around the perimeter of Mudchute Park, ready to take action if needed? Preferably with soldiers without itchy trigger fingers, though. And buses on standby to take the hostages to hospital – Brennan, get two or three hospitals on the line ready to run them through. We'll need personnel to debrief them, too – Captain Bartok, that's your bailiwick."
She paused a moment, thinking hard, then turned back to General Myers again. "General, the rest of the world needs to stay on high alert, too, in case this is a distraction." He nodded, having already thought of that, and she smiled. "I should tell you your job?" she asked ironically, then turned serious again. "But I also need some quick suggestions for possible solutions to present to the Commander, in case this 'meeting' is for real. Can you round some up for me from your world leaders?"
He shrugged. "I'll put the question, but at the moment, without any more information than we have, I doubt we'll get much more than 'shoot them out of the sky'."
Her expression turned rueful. "True. At least, though, try to impress upon them that if the SenSaru do cooperate, we will owe it to them in turn to at least make the attempt to come up with answers in the future, if not necessarily right today."
She turned back to the screen. "Any movement towards the park from above?"
"Not yet," came the reply from a tech who'd been watching. "In fact, all the landers are headed towards the mother ship."
"Well. What is going on up there?"
^..^
Donna had backed up as close to the door as she could when SesTok had sent her off. Glancing quickly to either side, she noted that the crewmen closest to her were turned away, their eyes locked on the center of the pod. She watched as SesTok made plans to meet Mum on the planet below. When the connection was closed, taking the automatic translations with it, and everyone's words immediately reverted to nonsense, she went into high alert, concentrating on their tones and expressions – what she could see and make out of them – as hard as she could.
She saw things go south, as the other shark began obviously to argue with SesTok. She carefully reached behind her back, trying to find the door sensor without looking. It tripped and the door whooshed open just as the shark's weapon appeared in it's hand, and she melted through it, turning and running blindly down the passage. She had no idea where she was going or what she could do, but she couldn't just stand there waiting for doom to fall. Besides, SesTok told me to run, didn't he? I just didn't think he meant it literally – at least not this soon.
She skidded to a halt at the first junction a dozen or so yards away, peeking quickly around the corner. No one in sight in either direction. Just to her right was an open doorway – the door appeared to be jammed – leading into a mechanical closet. That's handy. Almost like they planned it for me. Is it a trap? Crap, even if it is, I'm using it. She jumped in and squirmed past an electrical waterfall of conduits and wires running from ceiling to floor, crouching down and making herself as small as possible. She tried to catch her breath, thinking furiously.
I don't know where I am, I have no map, no weapons, no allies. There's a whole bunch of kids somewhere on this ship, but they're prisoners. How can I possibly help them? I can't even help myself. She moaned softly in despair, then gasped and mentally shook herself. Get a grip, Donna. You do have one ally on board. SesTok. Or rather, you're his ally. You just have to figure out a way to help him.
We didn't come very far from his cabin to the bridge, or whatever that was. And we didn't change floors. It's got to be somewhere near here. I think I even came back out the same door. Just as she got that far, she heard a commotion coming from the direction of the bridge, and scrunched down even further, peering through a tangle of wires towards the doorway to the corridor. Sure enough, a second later several crewmen went running past, one stopping to peer into her hiding place. The difference in light levels must have blinded him, because he withdrew after only a quick perusal and went on. The hunt for her was evidently on.
Holding her breath, she continued waiting. A minute later she was rewarded, as she saw SesTok being marched past by two crewmen, then turning left at the junction. When the noise died down, she carefully crept out from behind the conduits and peeked out. Nobody in sight. Crawling to the corner, she peered around, right and left – and spied a pair of armed crewmen standing outside a door several yards away, looking like guards. She looked closer, as best she could in the dim light; yes, it looked like the same door she'd been sitting next to such a short time before. Apparently they'd taken him back to his own cabin.
Hearing noise again from the right, she scuttled back into her hiding place, to wait out the activity and try to come up with a plan.
^..^
Half an hour later, the atmosphere at Torchwood had changed from jubilation to deepening confusion and concern. The landers had all proceeded back to the mother ship, and none of them appeared to be getting ready to return.
Rose was still standing on the camera's hot spot, watching the displays overhead and listening to the reports wafting in of the preparations in and around the landing site. Just as she opened her mouth to ask for some tea, the same observant tech sang out, "The mother ship's moving! I think... she's breaking orbit! They're leaving!"
"Whaaat?" Rose cried out. "Open the comm channel back up!"
"Sending!"
"Commander SesTok! What is happening? Why are you not coming to meet me?" She tried, probably in vain, to keep her voice free of panic or outrage.
No reply.
"Commander SesTok! Please respond!" A bit of panic seeping through.
Finally, the screen overhead cleared, and showed an alien face once more. Not SesTok's, though. She recognized the SubCommander who had been on before – what was his name? JanDel.
"The traitor SesTok is no longer in command of this vessel. I am, and I take no orders from low animals like you. We are returning home. Squawk all you like, we will not reply further. Transmission ends." And with that, the line was cut. The room was silent, shocked.
Rose began to call out, but closed her mouth, realizing immediately how futile it would be. She turned to Corin and Joshua again, her eyes round with fear. "What just happened?"
Corin spoke first. "Looks like SesTok was just relieved of command."
Joshua nodded, filled with apprehension. "Mutiny."